God Heals Our Brokenness

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading titled, God Heals Our Brokenness, was written by Anne Sedus. Colin and his wife, Jordan, wandered through the craft store looking for a picture to hang in their home. Colin thought he'd found just the right piece and called Jordan over to see it. On the right side of the ceramic artwork was the word GRACE, but the left side held two long cracks. Well, it's broken, Jordan said as she started looking for an unbroken one on the shelf. But then Colin said, No, that's the point. We're broken and then grace comes in.

Period. They decided to purchase the one with the cracks. When they got to the checkout, the clerk exclaimed, Oh no, it's broken.

Yes, so are we, Jordan whispered. What does it mean to be a broken person? Someone defined it this way, a growing awareness that no matter how hard we try, our ability to make life work gets worse instead of better. It's a recognition of our need for God and His intervention in our lives. In Ephesians chapter two, the Apostle Paul talked about our brokenness in terms of being dead in our transgressions and sins. The answer to our need to be forgiven and changed comes in verses four and five. Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive. It is by grace we have been saved. God is willing to heal our brokenness with His grace when we admit, I'm broken.

Today's Our Daily Read devotional scripture reading is from Ephesians chapter two, verses one through 10. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.

Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for coming to our rescue when we were broken and saving us from our sins. Help us to fully realize what it means to be new creations and to live out that new life that you have given us. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening. I'm Rachelle Traube, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.